Game of Destinies
by Utopian
Summary: The Wheel of Fate toyed with her. She was its porcelain doll, its to play with. The desire for freedom will drive them, but will it also destroy them? — sasusaku.


title : game of destiny  
summary : the wheel of fate toyed with her. she was its porcelain doll, its to play with. the desire for freedom will drive them, but will it also destroy them? — sasusaku.  
dedication : my hopes of pink-haired, black-eyed Uchiha babies. ・ﾟﾟ･(≧д≦)･ﾟﾟ･｡

note : random plot bunny in my garden. planned three/four-shot.

* * *

_The first time he sees her, she is accepting._

He is standing watch over the palace bathhouse, thick leather armor itching and helmet balancing awkwardly on his head, when he glimpses her. She is surrounded by handmaidens, clothed in white with a brilliant smile in place. He does not recognize her as a princess, yet she is treated like royalty ; a silver tiara resting on top of her striking pink hair.

Her eyes dart around the room, briefly meeting his. He averted his eyes immediately, cursing himself for his foolishness —a petty guard could be thrown into prison for simply laying eyes on royalty— but noting how green hers were all the same.

The troupe of women move along into the bath house, feminine giggles echoing along the marble hallways. He sighs, straightens his spine, and continues guard duty. Pondering on the girl, the memory of her green eyes was the most vivid in his mind. There was an ageless wisdom in them, but he could still see the exhaustion that seemed soul-deep, carving out darker lines of jade in clear emerald.

He knew in his mind that she had come to terms with whatever horror awaited her in the future. She had made peace with it and accepted it.

But that didn't mean she had to _like_ it.

* * *

_When he sees her next, she is denying._

The Harvest Festival has taken off and he is given a job guarding supplies as they are carted back and forth between the Kingdom and it's neighboring villages. He watches as the King and Queen visit the vibrant stalls with their daughter, Princess Hinata. The princess is a beauty, dark-haired with the traditional pale eyes of her clan. She was accompanied by another youth with rich brown hair and similar gray eyes. He was dressed in warrior grab and every-so-often his hand would twitch towards the saber strapped to his waist when someone ventured too close to the princess. Vaguely recalling the man as an instructor at the academy, he shrugs it off and returns to attention.

When he is finally let off duty and is allowed to wander the festival, he finds himself watching for a flash of pink or emerald, hoping to see the noble from the bath house. He is finally bullied into buying an okami mask by his idiot best friend and grudgingly places it on, hiding his features from view.

He ducks into the first alleyway he can, escaping the loud din of the crowds as they descend into the brightening lights of the festival. Some ways from the festival, he admires the browning leaves of the ancient tree that stood in the middle of the citadel and slumps against it, breathing in the chilling air and pulling the sleeves of his dark blue yukata down to cover his hands. Leaning against the time-weary wood, he slid his stormy black eyes closed.

* * *

_He is chasing something, or maybe it's a person, he cannot tell. The shape is moving faster, finally taking form in front of him. It is a_ girl.

_No._

_It was __**her**__._

_Her who haunted his dreams. Her who filled his every waking moment from the second he glimpsed her at the bath house that day._

_He extends his hand, trying to grasp at her, but she is too far away. She giggles lightly and bounds away further, almost forcing a disappointed whine from his lips. Suddenly, she gasps, green eyes wide with fear yet there is a strange sort of knowing in them, like she had been expecting this horror he could not see nor protect her from._

_He tries to reach her again, but for every step he takes, she seems further and further away._

_Then, she stops looking afraid and beams at him. He sees her pearly grin, but wishes that she would open her eyes._

_She turns around, and he sees a white circle on her back. Giving him one last look over her shoulder, piercing him with her soft but intense emerald orbs..._

_She flees._

_He pursues._

_The sound of his footsteps seem unreal, pelting down on the white earth around him like thunderbolts. Her figure shrinks, she is escaping. Then suddenly, he is catching up, wrapping his arms around her from behind._

_She begins struggling and screaming like a banshee. He tries to soothe her with comforting words, but they come out as a menacing growl which serves to further terrify her. He glances down at the girl he holds captive, and he sees what used to be hands become dark furry claws._

_She turns around in his grip, forcing him to see his own reflection in her glassy eyes._

_Fierce, red coals burn back at him. He is terrifying. A nightmare. A horror. The bane of everything goodandholyandpureandandand..._

_Oh god, what has he become?_

* * *

He is wrenched violently from his dream, or perhaps it was a nightmare? His mask has been knocked askew by what he presumes was his trashing. The crunch of leaves told him someone is approaching and he scrambles backward to get himself away, only to have his efforts met with cold, hard bark.

There she stood, in all her pink and green glory, her.

Her head tilted as she stepped lightly towards him, her petite body clad in a white and silver kimono. It was clear she didn't recognize him from the bath house as she smiled softly at him, unfamiliarity in her eyes.

"May I sit here?" she inquired softly.

He nodded stupidly, and she thumped down on the earth beside him. They sit in a surprisingly comfortable silence for minutes.

"What's your name?"

"Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke."

"Well Sasuke, do you believe in..." she falters slightly "fate?"

Her eyes do not meet his, and he takes a moment to admire her surreal beauty. She had foregone her tiara today, her uniquely shaded hair parted in a side braid. Her wide, glassy emerald eyes stared at the stars, searching for a familiar celestial body. He returns his eyes to the spangled sky, resting them on the constellation of Vulpecula.

"I can see Delphinus." she continued, obviously not expecting an answer from the man beside her.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't believe in fate."

She remained silent for a long moment, till he feared he had offended her and shut his eyes. She finally turned to face him, eyes questioning with the sour tint of despair.

"Then why is it my fate to die?"

Dark eyes flew open.

* * *

She begins her illustration.

_Once upon a time, when monsters ran rampant, the King Hashirama had made a deal with the Lord of Akuma, a gigantic Kyuubi. The nine-tailed fox, the kitsune of legends._

_Every century would see a new bride provided to the monster in exchange for the safety of the city. The Kyuubi's conditions were clear. He would accept only one with royal blood. The princess of the current King and Queen of Leaf._

_Centuries passed, and the city flourished under the protection of demons. As promised, the princess would be taken from her home and sent to live with the Lord in the Ninshisho no Kyuden._

_Then one day, it wasn't good enough._

_King Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to give up his one and only daughter, Tsunade, to the Demon Lord._

_And thus, war was declared._

_The Leaf struggled bravely and valiantly, but it could not overcome the might and rage of the Kingdom of Akuma. Defeat was swift and deadly, the screeching of the Demon Lord's soldiers echoing horrifically as they massacred all within the city walls. They say that the only clans strong enough to survive the onslaught were the Uchiha, Hyuuga and Senju._

_Leaf never recovered from that battle. But in the process, they discovered something that would save future princesses from Kyuubi's clutches._

_The Kyuubi only accepted those with royal blood in them, but he could not tell the difference if the girl had been brought up like a princess._

_In tomes written by Tsunade seeking revenge against the Lord of Akuma for the death of her father and brothers, she noted that the kitsune would sense if there was an impurity in his offering, mandating that the girl must be trained from birth in the mannerisms of a princess._

_Thus, a new tradition began in the Leaf. Every eighty years would see the rise of poor families offering their newborn daughters as sacrifice in exchange for great wealth and fortune. Sickening as it was, life was hard, and demons would regularly plunder villages to remind the people of the recklessness that had cost them everything._

_And on his throne in Ninshisho no Kyuden, the Demon Lord awaited his new bride._

"...he waits for me." she finishes grimly.

* * *

"I... do not know true freedom, or a life beyond the palace. I do not know who my real parents were."

"Do you wish to meet them?"

He startles her with a reply, but she smiles gently at him nonetheless. He can sense true nobility in her, and she has far more grace than those unscrupulous nobles that taint the courts he watches over every day.

"I want to ask them why they gave me away. I want to know why I wasn't good enough for them."

There is sadness in her tone, but there is also anger. Before he knows it, she has come close enough for him to see thick lashes caress her cheeks softly each time she blinks. She reaches out and grips the front of his kimono, her head bowed in shame.

"I don't want to die." she begs, _beseeches_, him.

He covers her hands with his own. "He will not kill you." The man too, knew about the fate that awaited the princess.

"It's the same as death." she replies quietly. "The fragments of freedom I have now, even if they are only illusions, are still better than my destiny."

* * *

"**She is afraid." **

"**Not for long my lord, she will accept her fate. Most of them do." rasps a deep voice.**

"**And those that don't?" **

**A snarl ripped through the silence of the shroud. **

"**They are destroyed."**

* * *

They stay there in silence. Her soul is in denial, and all he can do is hold her and pray.

Minutes pass, but neither are willing to let go. The calls of servants and guards seek out their false princess and he gently eases her grip on his kimono.

He lifts her chin and bravely stares into her emerald eyes that are now glimmering with unshed tears. She sniffles slightly, and he finds himself pained to let her go. Surprising both of them, she moves up and sweetly presses her lips to his. He allowed his arms to press against the lower back, drawing her closer to him.

When they finally draw away from each other, he kisses her nose, and he sees her blush for the first time.

"I never did get your name."

"Sakura. Just Sakura."

He stands up and offers her his hand, which she accepts gratefully. He counts down the seconds til they must separate.

_**Five.**_

"I'll find you again. I promise."

_**Four.**_

"I know you will."

_**Three.**_

Her smile is more beautiful than anything he had ever seen before.

_**Two. **_

"Goodbye, Sasuke-kun."

_**One.**_

And he knew that he would die for her.

* * *

note : lol, wut.  
disclaimer : do not own naruto.


End file.
